Business glossary

One term, one definition – everywhere.

A term is defined once and linked to the columns that use it, so “active customer” means the same thing in every table, whatever the column is called there.

The business glossary in Specly with a business concept, its definition and the columns linked to it
How it fits together

From word to column in three steps.

  1. 1

    Define the term once

    A business concept holds the business description, a developer note, the technical name and the datatype in one place. The definition is written only once.

  2. 2

    Link it to the columns

    The term is linked to the columns that mean the same thing, whatever they are called in each table. You see where the term is used, and every column carries the definition with it.

  3. 3

    Read it in the same model

    The business side reads descriptions and concepts in the same model the developers build from. There is no separate word list to keep in step alongside it.

Two roles, one glossary

The questions the glossary answers.

Questions and answers

What people often ask.

What is a business glossary?
A business glossary collects the business terms an organisation uses, with one definition each. In Specly it lives in the same project as the data model, and each term is linked to the columns that represent it.
What do we get from linking a term to columns?
The term is defined once and linked to the columns that mean the same thing, even when they have different names in each table. You see where the term is used, and everyone who reads one of those columns sees the same definition.
Who can suggest changes?
A Contributor can suggest changes to metadata such as descriptions and custom fields, and the suggestion is reviewed before it goes in. An Admin chooses which fields are open to suggestions. A Developer or Admin edits the concepts directly, and a Viewer can read the glossary but not change it.

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